US President Joe Biden is getting ready to put a very high tax on electric cars (EVs) that are brought into the country from China. This information was first talked about in The Wall Street Journal, and they got their information from people who didn’t want to be named.
The report says that the current tax of 25% for Chinese EVs, which was decided by the last president, Donald Trump, using the “Section 301 Tariffs,” will be made four times higher, almost 100%. This will make it even more difficult for electric cars from China to be sold in the US, which seems to be the goal.
The decision by Biden to change the Section 301 tariffs comes from a review that started in 2022. According to the people who shared the information, the changes will be announced as early as Tuesday, and they will affect many other products from China too. Along with putting a higher tax on Chinese EVs, new taxes will be put on things like computer chips, solar equipment, and medical things like syringes and protective gear.
The US government has been urged by lawmakers to stop products from China coming into the country, especially electric cars. China has criticized these actions, saying that the Biden government is not following the rules of international trade.
Even though the taxes are going to be really strict for electric cars from China under the Biden government, there’s a way for cars from China to still come into the US easily, through Mexico. The current rules only stop electric cars made in China, but not Chinese products made in Mexico. Some Chinese car companies, like BYD, were thinking of making cars in Mexico to sell in the US, but they decided not to. Other companies, like Chery and Zeekr, have shown interest in selling cars in the US, but they haven’t started doing it yet.
